Duplex door cabinet



March 18, 1941. H. DERMAN DUPLEX DOOR CABINET Filed April 5,' 1959 9 00 W 6 7 l? Q L, Hw n, f

vATTORN Y Patented Mar. 18, 1941 UNITED sTATEs PATENT yorrlcE DUPLEX noon CABINET Harry Derman, Laurelton, Long Island, N. Y. Application April s, 1939, 'serial No. 266,969

6 Claims.

This invention relates to closets or cabinets of the knockdown or collapsible type and kind constructed from foldably related back, side and front wall parts, removable top and bottom wall parts, and two door closure members, at least one of which is composed of single-face corrugated board arranged upon a spring roller supported upon and removable with the top wall of the cabinet; and the object of the invention is to lo provide a closet of the character described wherein the two door members are arranged in edgeto-edge relationship in the cabinet and slldable vertically in the front wall portions thereof in single channels with means detachably coupling 'Y i5 adjacent ends of the door members whereby said door members may be moved collectively and independently with means on they lower door member for retaining said member against movement with respect to the bottom of the cabinet; a furzo ther object being to provide a cabinet of the character described employing channeled reinforcing and door guiding rails at the front of the cabinet with means for interlocking the rails with the top and bottom wall members to provide a :drm

and rigid cabinet construction; a furtherl object being to so form the upper and lower ends of the front wall portions of the cabinet as to permit the inward flexure thereof in arranging the top and bottom walls in position; and with these and other objects in view, the invention consists in a cabinet of the class and for the purpose specified, which is simple in construction, and which is constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

3,-, The invention is fully disclosed in the following specication, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my invention are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet indicating the method of assembling the top wall and upper roller door to the upper portion of the cabinet.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the cabinet assembled and illustrating both doors in raised position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2 showing only a part of the construction; and,

Fig. is a section on the line Q of Fig. 3 showing only a part of the construction.

The cabinet shown in the accompanying drawing for the purpose of illustrating one adaptation of the invention comprises a unitary sheet (ci. 31a-19o) of bre board, corrugated board, or the like, folded to form a back wall 5, side walls 6, and front wall portions "I, which are disposed only at the sides of the front of the cabinet and have v channeled' rails 8 secured to and extending lon- 5 gitudinally of the free edges thereof. The rails 8 have channels 9 on the inner opposed surfaces thereof. It will be understood that in the knockdown condition of the cabinet, the side walls 6,

including the front wall portion l and strips 8, lo

will be foldable upon the back wall 5, and the top wall I@ and bottom wall Illa will be arranged upon these collapsed back and side walls.

The walls It, ita are of substantially identical construction insofar as the general contour therel5 of is concerned; that is to say, each of the walls is provided with reinforcing ilange strips ii extending around the periphery of said Walls and reinforced at the corners by L-shaped sheet metal plates i2. The strips or rails II at the front of 20 both top and bottom walls I0, Illa have recesses I ia adjacent the ends thereof for receiving upper and lower forked orchanneled ends da of the strips 8. The outer side of the strips 8 terminate in alinement with the surfaces of the top and 25 bottom walls whereas the inner side terminates short of the top and bottom walls as seen, for example, at 8b in Fig. 4 of the drawing. The purpose of this construction is to clear the inturned anges of the bre board or other ma- 30 terial forming the top and bottom Walls proper as will clearly appear in Fig. 4 of the drawing.

The top and bottom walls I0, lila diier from each other in that a spring roller is supported upon brackets .I3 arranged upon the inner sur- 35 face of the top wall upon which the flexible top door member I4 is secured and wound; whereas the bottom wall has one part I5 of acatch device arranged on the front rail for engaging the other part I6 of the catch device on the bottom rail I'I` 40 of a bottom door I 8. The upper rail I9 of the door has another catch device 20 secured thereto for engaging a companion catch device 2l on a reinforcing end rail or strip 22 at the free end of the door I4. The strip is recessed centrally 45 as seen at 23 to form a finger piece facilitating the operation of the door.

The door I4, including the strip 22, and the door I8, including the strips II and I9, are all i slidably mounted in the grooves or channels 9 of 50 the rails in the movement of said doors separately or collectively in the cabinet. The grooves 9 open through the upper and lower lends of the strips 8, and these grooves are closed by the rails II, or the recessed portions IIa thereof, as will 5a appear in Fig. 4 of the drawing. The rails 8 are also recessed as seen at 24 in Fig. 4 of the drawing to open into the cabinet at the top thereof to admit the flexible door I4 into the grooves o r channels 8. The surface 28 of the recessed portion of the rails is rounded to prdlvide free movement of the door I4 into and out of the channels as will be apparent.

It will be understood that the door I4, including the strip 22, which is secured to the free edge of the door, normally constitutes a unit part of the top wall structure; that is to say, in the packing and shipment thereof. In assembling the cabinet, the unit comprising the back, side and front wall parts, including the rails 8, is rst mounted upon the bottom wall Ina, after which the bottom door I8 is arranged in position, this 'door constituting a free part, thereafter the usual garment hanging frame 26 is coupled with the upper edges of the side walls 8 as indicated in Fig. 1, and then the top wall III is arranged in position, in which operation the door I4 is partially extended and moved into the channels 8 of the rails 8 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

'Ihe upper and lower corners 'Ia of the front wall portion I are unattached to the strips 8 at the forked or channeled ends 8a thereof. In moving the wall members III, lila, into position upon the upper and lower ends of the cabinet, the corners Ia are flexed inwardly as seen at 21, Figs. 3 and 4. 'I'his exure is suicient to receive the front rails or reinforcing strips of said top and bottom walls. It will be understood in this connection that the free edges of the front wall part 1 fit in channels 28 in the strips 8, which are partially in alinement withthe channeled ends 8a of the strips. Therefore, it is desirable to flex the corners 1a inwardly so as to provide not only a strong construction, but also a tight iit so that the cabinet may be sealed as much as possible throughout its entirety. This is especially desirable when using the same as a storage for clothing.

After the top wall I has been fully assembled and the several walls secured together by fastening devices as for example at 29, and by nails and screws as at 38, note Fig. 2, the door I4 may then be moved downwardly and be coupled with the door I8 through the couplings 20, 2|. In the use of the closet, it will be understood that the door I4 may be raised and lowered in the cabinet independent of the door I8 by detaching the couplings as at 20, 2| and maintaining the couplings I5, I6 closed. On the other hand, by maintaining the couplings 20, 2|, in engaged position, and detaching the couplings I5, I 6, both doors may be collectively raised in the manner shown in Fig. 2 for the purpose of gaining access to the bottom of the cabinet, especially when the latter is used for the storage of shoes or any other articles. In the construction shown, the door I8 is composed of a plain sheet of still' cardboard, which will be treated or faced to match the facings employed on the outer surfaces of the walls 5, Ii, and lI. In fact, the same kind of decorations or facings as used on the door I8 may be used on the door I4, notwithstanding the fact that it is composed of the flexible corrugated sheet. The wood strips or reinforcements as at 8, I I, I1, I8, and 22 may be stained in a color contrasting to the wall surfaces so as to produce a neat and finished appearance. It will also be understood that the various strips may be grooved or otherwise ornamented for enhancing the appearance of the complete cabinet, but all such details have been omitted solely from the standpoint of simplifying the present illustration.

It will be understood that by channelling the upper and lower ends of the rails 8 to nt the recess portions IIa of the top and bottom walls, a much firmer cabinet construction is provided in that relative movement of the walls and rails is substantially eliminated. In a lightweight cabinet structure of the type and kind, wherein the entire cabinet weighs but a few pounds, it is important to maintain rigidity. It will also appear that by arranging both door members of the cabinet in a single channel, the structure of the entire cabinet is simplified, and at the same time, the desired effects of an open bottom or lower portion of the cabinet apart from the opening of the upper portion of the cabinet, is provided. It will, of course, be understood that when both doors are raised collectively as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the spring tension of the roller will be suiicient to raise both doors. On the other hand, it will be understood that if the upper door I4 is in raised position, the lower door I8 may be raised and lowered at will in the cabinet by hand, this door then dropping into its closed position by gravity. Suillcient clearance is provided for the free action of the door I8 as Well as the door I4, including their associated parts.

It will of course be apparent that the reference in the foregoing specification to upper and lower doors is merely descriptive of a cabinet arranged upon one end in the manner illustrated, but in constructing cabinets of this type and kind .for mounting upon a surface with one side of the cabinet arranged downwardly, then the doors would constitute side doors rather than top and bottom doors.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new 4and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A cabinet of the class described having a unitary rear and side wall member including narrow front wall panels, reinforcing rails on adjacent edges of said panels forming side -boundaries of a front door opening, adjacent surfaces of said rails having channels for engaging slidable closure means controlling said door opening, end wall members on said cabinet having reinforcing strips at the front edges thereof, at least one side surface of each strip being notched at two sections equally spaced from and inwardly of the ends thereof, the end portions of said reinforcing rails being notched to snugly engage the notched sections of said strips thereby forming a rigid nonshifting door frame inwardly of and in spaced relation to the side Wall members of the cabinet and the ends of said reinforcing strips protruding beyond said rails and yoverlying said front wall panels.

2. A cabinet of the class described having a unitary rear and side wall member including narrow front wall panels, reinforcing rails on adjacent edges of said panels forming side boundaries of a front door opening, adjacent surfaces of said rails having channels for engaging slidable closure means controlling said door opening, end wall members on said cabinet having reinforcing strips at the front edges thereof, at least one side surface of each of said strips being notched at two sections equally spaced from the ends thereof, thelend portions of said reinforcing rails being notched to slidably engage the notched sections of said strips thereby forming a rigid door frame, and the ends of said front wall panels adjacent A 2,235,573 said reinforcing rails being severed to provide in' ward tlexure thereof in moving the notched sections of the reinforcing strips on said end wall members into engagement with said rails.

3. In a cabinet of the class described, a front door frame comprising reinforcing side rails having -channels in adjacent edges and extending longitudinally throughout the length thereof for guiding slidable closure means, transverse strips forming the ends of said frames, each of lsaid strips having notches formed in the front surface and at two sections inwardly of and adjacent the ends thereof, said notches being equal to the width of said rails and the end portions of said side rails having transverse channels to slidably and snugly receive the n-otched sections of said transverse strips, thereby forming a rigid non-shifting door frame inwardly of and in spaced relation to the terminal ends of said -transverse strips.

4. In a knock down cabinet of the class described having a front door opening bordered on two sides by vertical rails having guide channels and at upper and lower ends by detachable top and bottom walls, two door members slidably engaging said channels, one of said door members fbeing composed of exi-ble material, one end portion of said door being mounted upon a roller supported on the inner surface of the top wall adjacent the forward edge thereof, and the other free end of said door member having a reinforcing strip slidably engaging said channels, the other door member having top and bottom reinforcing strips, interengaging coupling devices o`n thevbottom strip and the bottom wall of the cabinet for retaining the last-named door in closed position,

other interengaging devices on the outer surface of the adjacent reinforcing strips of both door members when in closed position for coupling said door members whereby both door members may be collectively moved in said channels and whereby said exible door member only may be raised and lowered in controlling the door opening.

5. A cabinet of the class-described comprising foldably and collapsibly related parts, one part comprising back, side, and front wall portions. two other pants comprising end walls. said parts when assembled forming a large door opening at the front of the cabinet, channeled rails at the free edges of the front wall parts forming the sides of a door frame, reinforcing strips at the forward edges of the end wall parts forming .the ends of the door frame, interengaging means on said strips and rails keying the same against relative movement in forming a rigid door frame structure, a flexible rtop door member slidably engaging said rails, a spring roller supported inconnection with the upper end wall part to which one end of the flexible door is attached, a reinforcing strip at the free end of the fiexible door, a bottom door slidably engaging said rails and having reinforcing strips at upper and lower ends thereof. and interengaging coupling devices on outer surfaces of 'the upper strip of the bottom door and the reinforcing strip of the flexible door for coupling and uncoupling said doors in selectively providing for collective movement of said doors or independent movement of said firstnamed door member.

`6. A cabinet of the class described having a unitary rear end side wall member including narrow front wall panels, reinforcing rails on adjacent edges of said panels forming side boundaries of a front door opening, adjacent surfaces of said rails having channels for engaging slidable closure means controlling said door opening, end wall members on said cabinet having reinforcing strips at the front edges thereof, at least one side surface of each of said strips being notched at twosections equally spaced from the ends thereof, 'the end portions of said reinforcing rails being notched to slidably engage the notched sections of said strips thereby forming a rigid door frame, said rails having longitudinal door guiding channels, detachably coupled doors 'independently or collectively movable in the channels of said rails to open and close said door opening, one of said doors being composed of flexible material, and means for guiding the flexible door into and out of the channels of said rails .adjacent one end of the cabinet.

HARRY DERMAN.

Cil 

